Past Guests

Helen
is a Kent based singer and songwriter with a strong, practical,
maritime background. In other words she does it as well as sing
about it unlike most of us with a maritme music bent, with the exception
of Chris Roche, who tend to keep our feet dry! However Helen is very
far from being "a one track pony" Bob Kenward sums it up perfectly in
his recent review of Helen's second CD "Honest and Poor" when he says: "If you had
Helen’s work filed under ‘seafaring’, think again: here you’ll find a
body of melodic songs from a writer branching out, performed with a
powerfully gorgeous voice and leaving you with a host of memorable
phrases which hit you when you least expect them. Riches!" Singing
both traditional and self-penned songs
her captivating performances have her audience in gales of laughter at
one moment, and in rapt attention the next. Her songwriting is out of
the first drawer, don't take my word for it if Mick Ryan and Paul Downes
regard it sufficiently well to include her song "The Midshipman's
Boast" as the opening track of their album "The Passing Hour", it is
playing as I type, then I think that is sufficient evidence! A night
not to be missed, come and sing along with a very fine performer.

MIKE NICHOLSON 7th March 2019 Illness hit teh audience quite hard but those who did make it had a thoroughy enjoyable evening of music and amusement!

JOHN & DI CULLEN WITH IRIS BISHOP 21st February 2019 8-00 pm We had an extremely enjoyable night with John, and Iris, we had some particularly funny "turns" in particular in, "Me 'usbands Got No Courage in 'im"

"PORCH SWING BLUES" 17th January 2019 8-00 pm A great night was had with the two usual suspects but this time they had brought their bass player with them. Sadly I missedit owing to ill health!

STEVE TURNER6 December 2018 8-00 pm Steve's wonderful mastery of the concertina tends to be thought of his main achievement but he is equally skilled in playing stringed instruments and in the art of singing! He was very realxed as he felt he was among friends and indeed he was! This combination led to a thoroughly enjoyable evening of entertainment for both artist and audience with a variety of songs both traditional and more comtemporary song

ARCHIE FISHER15 November 2018 8-00 pmA master class in Scottish folk music from a man who is completely relaxed in his presentation and conveys this to his audience as pure enjoyment! A most memorable and thoroughly enjoyable evening with Archie Fisher was had by all and is thoroughly recommended to all!

MIKE WILSON & DAMIEN BARBER25 October2018 8-00 pm What can you say about an evening that, through nobody's fault, had to be postponed for a year but that it was greatly anticipated and more than matched that anticipation! Sometimes in the past the balance of song and story may have fallen in favour of the latter with these two wonderful singers but certainly not on this occasion!We had as many songs as could possibly be crammed in to two 45 minute sets performed with gusto and pathos, according to the subject matter of the song, in a highly accomplished manor. What more could you ask?

"MORRIGAN"6 September 2018 8-00 pm An evening with a difference was had with Morrigan! Having taken part in a workshop with them at Tenterden Folk Festival the previous October where they were adding the audience in to their four part harmony in Vaughan Williams songs, as he collected them, I was keen to add some of this to our evening. Neither they nor I was sure how this might work in a Folk Club but we thought nothing ventured nothing gained so we decided to try and our members loved it! Many of them had not tried anything like it before. In addition a sublime performance of both their harmony singing and instrumental work was thoroughly enjoyed by performers and audience alike. The fact that they are such an accomplished and delightful group of people adds so much to the ambience!

PETER COLLINS23 August 2018 8-00 pm A very gentle evening of wonderful singing and discourse was had with the man with the deep bass voice! Peter is a great friend of the club but is probably best known for running the "Singalong" session in "The Neptune" at lunchtime during Broadstairs Folk Week along with Mike Nicholson".

GEOFF HIGGINBOTTOM12 July 2018 8-00 pm As a great all round entertainer who earns his living as both an actor and singer Geoff likes nothing better than to return to his roots as a traditional folk performer. This he was able to do both at Faversham the night before and with us! It was smiles and compliments all round at the end of an evening of thoroughly enjoyable folk song with great asccompaniment from a variety of instruments. Geoff responds very well to requests and if you can get them in beforehand by e-mail as I do it is even better! Geoff is too often and unfairly pigeon holed as more of a comedian and purveyor of modern songs, which is very unfair and does not do justice to his great talent as a highly accomplished folk performer.

KEITH KENDRICK & SYLVIA NEEDHAM14 June 2018 8-00 pm As always this highly professional duo produced a varied exhibition of great tradtitional folk song with accompaniment from guitar and a variety of concertina acompaniment plus great instrumental pieces in addition!

This
fine English duo has been praised as being amongst the finest
interpreters of traditional English songs. Four decades of performing
have taken Derbyshire born-and-bred Keith all over the U.K., Europe, the
U.S., and most of the globe, even Japan where he spent six months, no
not hard labour! He and Sylvia have now been performing together for
more than ten years. In addition to their recorded work, they have been
featured on the BBC and are a celebrated fixture at folk festivals
around the World. They have been acclaimed for “breathtaking harmony
work that leaves the listener gasping.” Drawing from a wide-ranging
repertoire, the duo’s performances combine humour with a deep respect
for the songs and tunes of their native land. While known for their a
capella harmonies, Keith and Sylvia also frequently accompany themselves
and play tunes on three different systems of the only English-invented
chromatic musical instrument – the concertina!

SUE WATSON AND CHRISSIE HOLMES17th May 2018 8-00 pm Lovely harmony singing was definitely the order of the day, or more accurately the evening! We had a great variety of songs with the main emphasis on trditional folk songs but also contemporary songs mostly in the traditional style but also some music hall in addition, all of which added up to a thoroughly enjoyable evening of excellent singing. Now there is an even greater treat to be had in future as Sue & Chrissie have added a third voice in the person of Karen and they have dubbed themselves as "Hook Line & Sinker"! They already have bookings at local clubs in their new line up. I hope to book them before too long!!

At very short notice, two days, Sue Watson
and Chrissie Holmes have agreed to stand in for "Notts Alliance who
were to have been our guests but have had to cancel due to illness. They say every cloud has a silver lining and in this case that is true because they were due to appear as a duo last August but on that occasion,unfortunately,
Chrissie was unwell so she was unable to attend! However, Sue being the trouper that
she is filled the bill magnificently on her own and with a little bit of
help from her friends! The silver lining here is that we are now able to have them back as a duo! Anyone
who was in the club in April 2017 when Isla St Clair was our guest will know how
superbly Sue & Chrissie performed in their floor spot that night
with superb harmony and a wide range of songs. They have relatively
recently renewed a singing partnership which started before Sue started
singing with Avril Cameron as "Suave" which is best described as
just "a long time ago". They have been working up their repertoire
steadily and have now done several floor spots both at FATD and Deal Friday Folk Club which have been extremely well received and I
am delighted to be able to book them as a replacement for our May Guest Night!

DEREK "GIFF" GIFFORD5th April 2018 8-00 pm A really great evening was had by all with "Giff" in really good form and we had the added bonus of his lovely wife, Janet, doing a floor spot for us as she is a great singer as well! "Giff" is so versatile that he can put his hand to a variety of different subject matter in the Folk World!

Derek
Gifford has been singing folk songs for over 30 years and is a full time folk performer known throughout the folk World as "Giff". He is an old friend of the club having performed at FATD both in his own right and as part of "Three Sheets to the Wind". His style is based on
the tradition but much of his repertoire includes contemporary songs
which are written in the traditional idiom. Giff has set a number of
Bury poet Keith Scowcroft's poems to music including 'When All Men Sing'
which is fast becoming a folk song 'standard' across the world. Whether
accompanying himself on guitar or bowed psaltery, which his wife hates, or singing
unaccompanied Giff's enthusiasm becomes contagious. He also gives talks
and workshops on the music to a variety of audiences. 'Birds in Folk Song' is a talk that Giff has given at both Broadstairs
and Tenterden Folk Festivals, the latter only last month, October 2017,
as he is a keen "birder", not a twitcher! Doubtless when he is staying
with me for this gig he will be out at Dungeness RSPB before
breakfast! Relaxed and
confident, with sea songs, shanties and other chorus songs a speciality, Giff's festival and club performances are a real treat to encounter. This will be a fun gig, don't miss

TOM McCONVILLE15th March 2018 8-00 pmWhat a fantastic evening we had with Tom as our guest, I had forgotten just how good he is, not having seen him for a while! Not only is he a talented musician and great singer but he is so much fun and a considerable part of the evening was spent in helpless laughter!

Tom
was born on Tyneside and brought up in a pub on the famous Scotswood
Road with clientele drawn from the Irish and Scottish communities. This
is where he first experienced traditional singing and fiddle music
Tom’s musical journey started in the North East folk clubs in the early
70s. Turning professional in 1974 he joined Bob Fox in a duo then
folk/rock band Magna Carta to play all over Europe. Every new venture
brought great success and immense respect from his peers and public
alike. Throughout his many collaborations he has continued his solo show
at venues large and small. “A sandpaper-dry wit, eye-watering skill on
the fiddle, great vocals... you just can't help feeling that a
performance by Tom is like visiting an old friend” is how one folk club
organiser describes him. Renowned for his musical accompaniments, Tom
has played on hundreds of albums. The list includes: Barbara Dickson,
Richard Thompson, Allan Taylor and Lindisfarne. Whilst he has shared
stages throughout the world with Stephan Grappelli, Sean McGuire, Mark
O'Connor, Paul Brady and The Chieftains, Tom has never forgotten his
roots and is as happy in the intimate atmosphere of a small folk club as
he is at the largest festivals. Tom McConville is a world class act!
We are delighted to have him back for his second appearance at FATD!

"SILK PURSE"15th February 2018 8-00 pmWe had a delightful, if long overdue, thoroughly enjoyable evening with Sue and Lyndsey giving us a good variety of instrumentation, considerable variety of songs in both style and content and all professionally delivered! I've heard that they rather enjoyed themselves too!

From the
link to their website you can click on to a YouTube clip from Otford
but be warned the recording is of poor quality and should only be viewed
to understand their style.Silk Purse
brings together two strong and distinctive female voices in powerful
and haunting harmony. Sue and Lyndsey Rule were familiar faces on the
Kent and Sussex folk circuit for many years as part of the wonderful
family folk group Pig’s Ear. As Silk Purse, they give their own stamp to
an eclectic mix of traditional, contemporary and self-penned material.
Between them, they play an impressive range of instruments - guitar,
bouzouki, mandola, fiddle (Sue); flute, recorders, whistles, concertina,
(Lyndsey). Alternating the two lead voices with a-capella harmony, Silk
Purse offer you the sweet and the silly, choruses and ballads,
delivered with zest and style. They are very much associated with the
"Pigs Ear Folk Ale" which in 2018 runs from 31 May to 3 June. It is a
superb festival and I have very much enjoyed Sue and Lyndsey's
contribution to the festival in recent years just as I enjoyed the
performance of "Pigs Ear" for many years before. I am delighted to
have been able to book them and I am really looking forward to their
long overdue appearance at FATD!

LYNNE HERAUD & PAT TURNER11th January 2018 8-00 pmAs ever, we had a great night with Lynne & Pat. Just a thoroughly enjoyable evening with a variety of songs beautifully presented!

Individually,
and in combination with a variety of well-known singers and bands,
Lynne Heraud and Pat Turner have both served long apprenticeships on the
shop-floor of folk music. Between them they play guitar, recorder,
English concertina and a variety of whistles (including swanee,
policeman's and referee's), list a spoons workshop in their hall of
fame, and are not in the least averse to dressing up or dancing when a
song requires it. They both agree, however, that their voices are their
most important instruments. Their resulting style is a unique blend of
stunning song and harmony, and a humour which takes their audience on a
roller-coaster ride - "everything from high tragedy to ingenious smut in
glorious vocal harmony!" Lynne and Pat are no strangers to FATD and
are also well known at Broadstairs Folk Week. Great fun fabulous
singers and superb harmony sum up their wonderful skill as folk
performers but it would only be fair to say "I wonder what is coming
next!”

BRIAN PETERS30th November 2017 8-00 pm We had a great night with Brian, lots of fun and variety. The best laugh of the night was the Child Ballad, or his version of it called "Six Nights Drunk" which he had kindly re-learned for the occasion!

Brian
Peters is one of the English folk scene’s great all-rounders: a
compelling singer, a first-rate squeezebox player and a skilled
guitarist. Brian is one of the country’s best anglo-concertina players
and is just as good on melodeon, while he’s also internationally-known
as a leading performer of the great ‘Child’ ballads. Although best
known for traditional folk songs and lively English dance music, Brian’s
act is full of variety and might include newer songs and tunes or wild
squeezebox excursions into ragtime and blues. Add his energy and dry
humour on stage, and you have a truly entertaining performer.

"SAID THE MAIDEN"16th November 2017 8-00 pm What a brilliant evening we had with these three lovely ladies! Brilliant harmony singing, great songs from the tradition and self penned songs telling great stories and sounding traditional! Add to that excellent accompaniment that was just that, not too loud so we could still hear the words. A thoroughly enjoyable time was had by all!

Said The Maiden are Jess Distill, Hannah Elizabeth and Kathy Pilkinton, three friends who discovered a mutual love of folk music when they reunited several years after spending their school years together in Hertfordshire. After tentatively performing a few songs at their local Redbourn Folk Club, the group soon gained a great deal of interest on the local and national folk circuit, securing major support and headline slots at folk clubs and festivals around the country. I saw them last year at Deal Friday Folk and decided to book them there and then!Said The Maiden are Jess Distill, Hannah Elizabeth and Kathy Pilkinton, three friends who discovered a mutual love of folk music when they reunited several years after spending their school years together in Hertfordshire. After tentatively performing a few songs at their local Redbourn Folk Club, the group soon gained a great deal of interest on the local and national folk circuit, securing major support and headline slots at folk clubs and festivals around the country. I saw them last year at Deal Friday Folk and decided to book them there and then!

SUE WATSON AND CHRISSIE HOLMES24th August 2017 8-00 pm Unfortunately Chrissie was unwell so unable to attend but Sue being the trouper that she is filled the bill magnificently on her own and with a little bit of help from her friends! We would hope to have them back as a duo before too long!

Anyone
who was in the club when Isla St Clair was our guest will know how
superbly Sue & Chrissie performed in their floor spot that night
with superb harmony and a wide range of songs. They have relatively
recently renewed a singing partnership which started before Sue started
singing with Avril Cameron as "Suave" which is best described as
just "a long time ago" They have been working up their repertoire and I
was delighted to be able to book them for our August Guest Night!

ROY CLINGING13th July2017 8-00 pm Once again we had a great night with Roy, who had kindly stepped in at short notice.

Roy is a fine singer, guitarist, concertina player and songwriter with a wealth of knowledge concerning the traditional
songs & dance music of his
native Cheshire. However, his repertoire extends over a wide range of
folk styles. He has performed at most of the UK's major folk
festivals, be it in Mick Ryan's ballad operas, with the Cheshire fiddle
player Neil Brookes or as a solo artist.
He never ceases to surprise us withthe variety of his programme.

BRAM TAYLOR 15th June 2017, 8-00 pm We had a great night with Bram as always and he will be back with us next year as part of a charity tour mainly based in Deal!

Bram Taylor is an
entertaining artist with a distinctive voice and relaxed
stage presence who gives an evening "Taylored" to
suit his audience.
With a constantly healthy gig sheet, annual tours of the USA
and appearances at the 2007 & 2009 Mariposa Folk Festival in
Canada (alongside Don McLean, Gordon Lightfoot, The Proclaimers and
Buffy-Sainte Marie). Bram
continues to be a constantly reliable and entertaining performer.

Bram
is Fellside Records’ longest serving artist with 10 solo albums
and almost an equivalent number of compilation recordings to his
credit. His latest
Fellside release ‘Jokers & Rogues’ was extremely well
received by the British Folk Music Press.

Geordie humour and great songsAs usual a superb night of singing playing and fun was had by all

ISLA St CLAIR 20th April 2017 8-00 pmISLA WAS THE CLUB'S SPECIAL GUEST FOR 2017!

Isla
St Clair is known to millions for her numerous television appearances
including The Royal Variety Show, The Morecambe and Wise Show, and most
notably as co-host with Larry Grayson on the BBC's long running The
Generation Game which won her `Best Female TV Personality'. Her
television series The Song and the Story won the coveted European award
`Prix Jeunesse'. Born in Scotland Isla is one of Britain’s foremost
traditional singers, noted for the depth of feeling she brings to her
country’s music. At twelve she recorded the first of many traditional
ballads for the School of Scottish Studies, and which are still used as
reference works. Still in her teens Isla was soon in the top rank of
British folksingers, winning several awards including `Best Female Folk
Singer', and touring the world. Recently she received an honorary
degree as Master of the University of Aberdeen for her contribution to
traditional music. Isla takes a keen interest in teaching children the
importance of traditional music and performs her specially prepared
programme for educational establishments at home and abroad. Isla’s
talent has also matured to encompass other aspects of the entertainment
business and she continues to be busy with, television, radio, stage,
presenting and touring in her live shows.

I
think this short biography tells you a lot but as well as visiting her
own modest website I strongly recommend that you visit her Wikipedia
page as well.

If
you only know Isla through her television work then I strongly suggest
listening to her on You Tube. I had some problems loading some of her
songs but I am fairly confident that this link to her singing "Farewell
To Tarwathie" will work: Farewell To Tarwathie

Debra is a great American singer and guitarist,with a special folding guitar!
She left a career in Education to pursue a career as a folksinger and
has spent considerable time living and working in UK including holding
the Monday night residency at Sandy Bell’s Bar, Edinburgh’s premier folk
music pub. She is Included in many compilations, notably the 2006
Free-Reed Records box set “RT-The Life and Times of Richard Thompson”
and she has worked with many prominent musicians! For those who haven't
seen her before I strongly recommend that you listen to some of the
sample tracks on her website.

"CAPELLA"16th February 2017 8-00 pm A delightfully enjoyable night of song and laughter was had by all, as was only to be expected!

Tony and Lesley Petty are two of the finest exponents of traditional
Song from the British IIsles as well as some from
America, France and further afield in wonderful harmony. They have
travelled England and Wales, playing at clubs and festivals, and have
also appeared in France, Holland and the USA. They hold a house concert
once a year, held over a weekend, in the middle of the fields of North
Kent, in the house if chilly or in the barn if warmer. The concerts and
singing are augmented with BBQ, horse shoe throwing (highly
competitive!), boules (even more competitive!!) and SPLOT. They have,
until recently, lived up to their name and sung largely unaccompanied,
except with an occasional bodhran, but, shock horror, last week at
Faversham Folk Club Tony played a guitar on one song is this an
indicator of more accompaniment to come?!

They were to have come
to us in July 2017 but they have very kindly stepped into the breach at
short notice.

TOM LEWIS12th January 2017 8-00 pm Another great night with Tom!

I
am delighted to have Tom back with us again, as he showed at Deal
Friday Folk last month he is an incredibly versatile and exceptionally
knowledgeable folk performer and it would be entirely wrong to label him
as a purely maritime performer! Tom
is a 24-year veteran of Her Majesty's Royal Naval diesel
submarines; although now he's comfortably located on dry land,
well he is living on a narrow boat!.
His maritime songs cover a wide range of nautical topics, from
life on
board H.M. ships, through the loneliness and lure of the sea,
to traditional shanties and classic nautical poetry, set to
his own, and others' melodies. Having been based in Canada
for twenty plus years with regular visits to UK he is now doing it the
other way round! It is great to have him back at the club. www.tomlewis.net

Stanley has appeared at Folk At The Drum on two previous occasions, once on a regular booking some time ago and more recently as an emergency replacement for a booked guest who fell ill at the last moment but very kindly found his own replacement! What can I say about Stan, he is an amazing performer in all senses of the word and you would do best to visit his website (following the link above) to get a flavour of all his humour and singing ability. He is a very funny man with a huge fund of stories and songs, some serious, but all cleverly crafted.
This is really one who must not be missed as he will give you a great
start to your Christmas period! As I predicted we had a hilarious night with very clever songs written and performed by a master craftsman!!

JOHN & DI CULLEN10th November 2016 8-00 pmJJohn and Di Cullen
have been described as “an
inspirational music partnership” performing contemporary and traditional
material with harmony, humour, guitar and bowed psaltery. Their first
CD, "
Moonlighting", is available plus their second, "Two For The Road", which
was
released in November 2015. I have known them for a while through both
Tonbridge Folk club and formerly when they ran "The Beacon" at Tunbridge
Wells where they ran a very fine pub and were deeply involved with the
running of the fortnightly Beacon Folk Club with Peter Collins. Two
nicer people you couldn't wish to meet and their highly entertaining and
accomplished performance is thoroughly enjoyable!Sadly I missed the night as I had to be elsewhere but I know that everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves!

BARRON BRADY13th October 2016 8-00 pm. Refreshing new self-penned songs mixed in with wonderful renditions of traditional song and a mix of instruments including two different harmoniums, or should that be harmonia? The larger of the two is over 100 years old and has a glorious sound. All this led to an extremely enjoyable and entertaining evening by two delightful people.

Barron
Brady are Si Barron and Ros Brady, I saw them in 2014 at the Teignmouth
Folk Festival when they were the support act for Martyn Wyndham-Read
and I knew almost instantly that I wanted to book them. It is difficult
to define what drew me to their music so quickly but I think it was
their respect for traditional music and the traditional folk sound. If
you look on their website you will see phrases like "interpreters of
traditional English Folk Songs" and "contemporary songwriters". These
are phrases that would normally make me wary but I am glad to say that
from a personal and FATD perspective their performance dispelled any
concern which I may have had on that score. Their musicianship and
singing are excellent and their songs, whether traditional or
self-penned tell stories on wide ranging subjects which really hold ones
attention. Guitar, whistles and harmonium accompany their singing but
the song takes precedence not the accompaniment which, in my view, is
just the way it should be!

Follow
the link to their website and I recommend that you look on the reviews
page at the words of Kathy Dunn the Swanage Folk Festival Director who
has summed them up perfectly. Then I suggest you go to the Listen page
and do just that, I strongly recommend that you listen to all four
tracks to get the range of their work!

I am confident that we shall have an extremely good evening with these two highly skilled young performers as our guests.

NICK DOW15th September 2016 8-00 pm. Nick entertained us all with stories of his life in song collecting and working with wood and Gypsy caravans in particular. The previous night at Faversham he had promised not to repeat any songs whilst he was with us and he was true to his word with a highly entertaining evening of superb guitar playing and singing story songs.

Nick
Dow has been a professional musician since the mid seventies and has
many LP's to his credit. His career began in South London where he was a
regular at The Bird in Hand folk song club, in Forest Hill. Nick is an
all round professional Folk Singer and Folklorist whom I have seen on
several occasions, most recently at the Teignmouth Folk Festival in
2015. I have always thoroughly enjoyed what he does and the way he
introduces and presents his songs. Not only is he a great performer but
he is also a great craftsman whose work building and repairing Gypsy
Caravans is greatly admired. As a consequence he is a fascinating man
with whom to talk when time permits.

Nick
doesn't have a website so I have used the hyperlink on his name above
the picture to link to him singing "Through Bushes and Through Briars"
on You Tube. If you follow the link you will find lots of other songs
by Nick but also some of his Gypsy Caravan activities and an interview
with him on Radio Lancashire about the caravan he refurbished as a
present from Ronnie Wood's wife for her husband.

JIM RADFORD18th August 2016 8-00 pm. A highly entertaining evening was had by all when Jim came to entertain us with stories and songs from his amazing long life.

Jim
is the youngest member of The Normandy Veterans Association, he was
just fifteen on his first trip to sea on 6 June 1944 when he found
himself as a galley boy on an ocean going rescue tug, "The Empire
Larch", off Gold Beach on "D Day" ! Since then he has been an activist
in many areas of life, in particular as a peace campaigner. He became a
folk singer and later a song writer when he first went back to
Arromanche on an anniversary of "D Day". This moved him so much that he
wrote his first and most famous song "Shores of Normandy", I first
heard him sing it at the Walton-on-The-Naize Maritime Song Festival in
2004 and it moved me to tears. Jim has been a friend of mine for more
than twelve years since we met at The Yarmouth Maritime Festival over
several years singing Sea Songs and Shanties in The Beer Tent along with
Capstan Full strength who ran the singaround. The festival guests came
to us and we didn't have to move, close to my idea of Folk Heaven!!
Since then Jim has moved on to greater things having twice sung "Shores
of Normandy" at The Royal Albert Hall in 2014 once at The British
Legion's own festival and then later in the year at the Festival of
Remembrance in front of the Royal Family. Last year he came to our
Lifeboat Concert at Dungeness and sang it there. Most recently he was
guest at the "Pig's Ear Folk and Ale" on 4th and 5th of June this year.
Jim has his own Wikipedia page which is very interesting and you will
find a number of his songs on You Tube, including his performance at The
Royal Albert Hall which has had over 91,000 hits!

JOHN WATERSON AKA "FAKE THACKRAY"14th July 2016 8-00 pm. What a great night we had with John, not only does he perform Jake's songs superbly but he is a highly talented performer in his own right. There were tears before the end of the evening, tears of laughter!! We shall definitely be having him back before too long!

I
first saw John Waterson, aka Fake Thackray, live at “The Pigs Ear”
Festival in 2014 and his performance confirmed the view I had formed by
listening to clips on You Tube, I wanted to book him as his presentation
live is outstanding!

John has performed the songs of Jake
Thackray at festivals, concerts, clubs, after dinner venues and – most
especially – to members of Jake’s family. Jake’s songs are
exquisitely funny, satirical, incisive, irreverent, witty and gloriously
un-PC – and sometimes all of these at the same time. Jake was a one
off, his poetry broke the rules yet worked beautifully. He was a true
craftsman of the English language, and his legacy of scores of songs
continues to delight audiences of all ages today.

Here are a couple of appreciative quotes:

“My
family and I really appreciate your approach to Dads work and hugely
enjoy watching your performances, which, whilst in your own entertaining
stage style, are very reminiscent of Jake - particularly in your timing
and rhythm. Thanks very much for keeping Dads songs alive.”Sam Thackray

“Wonderful
stuff, bringing some of Jake's long-forgotten gems back to life.
Brilliantly performed songs, with uncannily precise enunciation, and
accurately capturing the unique Thackray guitar style. If Jake was
right, and there really is an afterlife, he'll undoubtedly be looking
down and giving his gruff approval”.Victor Lewis Smith, Producer 'Jake on the Box' BBC 4

RIBBON ROAD16th June 2016 8-00 pm We had a lovely night with this very gentle style of protest song and the harmonies were every bit as good as I remembered!!

"Ribbon
Road " is a Family Folk Group who hail from the Border Country of
Northumberland consisting of Husband and wife team Geoff and Brenda
Heslop and their daughter Jill. Brenda is a wonderful songwriter, she
and Geoff play guitar, Jill plays keyboards and all three sing with
lovely harmonies. I saw them at Broadstairs Folk Week in 2014 and knew
immediately that I wanted to book them for Folk at The Drum! I saw them
several times at the Festival and became even more determined to book
them. For over twenty years Brenda has been one of the underground
talents of songwriting, she has a captivating voice which draws the
listener into her stories of life in its many guises. Her songs are
stunningly beautiful conveying compassion, triumph, sorrow and hope
mixed with anger at those who abuse their power. She is also a working
shepherd looking after hundreds of sheep on the hills of
Northumberland! Geoff may be better known to you than you think having
produced over a hundred folk albums in the last forty years with
performers like Bert Jansch, Dick Gaughan, Allan Taylor and many
others. A recent review of their album "No Redemption Songs " of 2012
states: "The overriding quality of the album comes from the strength of
the vocals from the three members of the group. There is some
understated instrumental accompaniment underpinning the songs but never
distracting from the stories which are being woven." I say "Amen" to
that as for me that is the very essence of Folk Music and it was exactly
the reason that I was instantly attracted to their performance. On top
of that they are three really nice people!! Do not miss this rare
appearance in the South of England.

BOB KENWARD12th May 2016 8-00 pm A terrific night with Bob who had kindly stepped in at short notice!

NANCY KERR & JAMES FAGAN 14th April 2016 8-00 pmAs was only to be expected with twice winners of the Radio 2 Folk Awards "Best Duo",

We had a superb night with these two thoroughly professional and delightful performers!

Cornish
resident JON HESLOP has been recognized as a major force in contemporary
songwriting for over a quarter of a century. His songs are full of powerful
beauty set to tunes firmly rooted in the British tradition, picked up and
passed on wherever singers gather. In the UK
and Ireland, and from St
Austell to Australia,
he and his songs are known and loved. Jon has also been a member of the
Cornwall Songwriters collective since their inception in the 1990’s, appearing
in all three of their ‘docu-dramas’. The Cry of Tin, Unsung Heroes and Cornish
Lads as well as pursuing a successful solo career.

His stage presence is quiet and
gentle, belying a sharp wit and droll sense of humour which surfaces in his
between song chat – and even in some of his songs! Equally at home accompanying
himself on guitar or bouzouki or singing
a cappella, Jon’s idiosyncratic
approach has made him a much loved and respected character in the world of folk
music.

You may not have heard of Jon Heslop
but if you regularly attend folk clubs or festivals you will have heard his
songs. His latest album, “NOW and AGAIN” is selling well to both established
fans and newcomers to his work.

Both serious and very funny” Folk
Diary (Sussex)Jon can be
contacted on07531255914 or at
hslpjnthnhslp@aol.com

TROTWOOD25th February 2016 8-00 pmWe had lots of fun with this lovely French Family!

This delightful French family group have been to Deal Friday Folk many times and to other Kent clubs including Tonbridge but this is their FIRST

appearance at FATD! Having spent some time in Ireland,
and returned frequently to top up their experience the family play and
sing wonderful Irish tunes and songs. They also do some Scottish songs
and delightful renditions of both The Skye Boat Song and "Wild Mountain
Thyme" can be found on You Tube. The easiest way to access these and other "Trotwood" items on You Tube is to go to their website either by double clicking on their name above the picture or copying the link below into your browser. Once in their website click once on their name in the line of buttons at the top of the page and this will bring up a link which takes you directly to one of their performances on You Tube

The band came together to perform the Captain Swing Show about The "Swing Riots" in Kent, a project devised, written and driven by Bob Kenward with a team of his friends who have sung with him in various guises over the years. First is Roger Resch who sang with Bob as "The Wealden Ramblers" for many years next is Sue Watson who runs Deal Folk Club and who has sung with Bob on many occasions, then comes Liz Randall, a highly accomplished singer and musician who is a stalwart of the Tonbridge and the former Beacon Folk Clubs and is well known throughout Kent and further afield. Last but by no means least is Alan Castle "Mr Tenterden Folk Festival" and mastermind of the Tenterden Folk Club. Alan is the narrator for the Captain Swing Show who provides the links between songs. Bob himself is a singer songwriter
well known and highly respected throughout the country and many fine
singers are proud to include a Bob Kenward song in their repertoire. Bob found he was struggling to find traditional songs about Kent, he is a Man of Kent, so he set out to write some and after many highly successful songs he came to the Captain Swing project, highly enjoyable songs which shed light on some important Kentish history!

Graeme
was in the area recently when he ran the Dungeness Lifeboat Shanty and
Sea Song Concert on 23 May 2015 which was also a memorial for our friend
and his, Kerry Hearn. Jim and Graeme performed at FATD in November
2013.

Although Jim and Graeme had worked
together many times over the years they officially started singing
together in 2002 at Whitby Folk Week. Jim had been running the Shanty
Sessions there for over 30 years and Graeme kindly offered to help out
(it's a tiring and thirsty job singing shanties for 2 hours every day of
the Festival) and Jim was glad to accept.They've
been running these sessions together ever since and also running
similar events at other Festivals around the country - Barnsley,
Bedworth, Bromyard etc (and that's just the B's).

The two singers are mostly known in
association with the late, great Johnny Collins who sadly passed away in
July 2009 (whilst on tour in Poland with Jim). Jim had been singing in a
duo with Johnny since 1975 and Graeme had also been singing with Johnny
since 1999. Sometimes the three singers performed as a trio (they
toured Canada as such in 2008) and the last recording Johnny made was
the CD ‘Good Times' with Jim and Graeme - so named because they always
had such good times together.

Like Johnny, Jim and Graeme specialize in unaccompanied chorus songs. Sea
Shanties, Work Songs, Union Songs, Mining Songs, Drinking Songs etc.
Anything to get the audience to join in and ‘Make the Rafters Roar'.

Bring your singing voices with you!

TATTERDEMALION29th October2015 8-00 pmA great night was had by all!!

Alistair Bailey and Roger Davenport need no introduction locally, they have been stalwarts at Folk At The Drum (FATD) for about seven years! They have also headlined at Crabble Mill Folk Nights and at The Star on Romney Marsh and they were also heavily involved in Folkestone's centenary efforts for the First World
War writing some superb songs for that event. They have written songs
on many other local issues and perform both these and other traditional
songs with splendid harmonies and clever instrumentation. See them
perform 'John Barleycorn' through a beer glass on the Admission page.

Our only puzzle for this long awaited evening is guessing just how many instruments they will have between them!!

Steve
has been to the club before but not for a while. After a break of
thirteen years he started to perform in Folk Clubs and Festivals again
in 2005. His latest CD, "Rim of the Wheel" was released in 2012 and is
very highly regarded. His website is well worth a visit. This gig will
be a must for all folkies.

Bram Taylor is an
entertaining artist with a distinctive voice and relaxed
stage presence who gives an evening "Taylored" to
suit his audience.
With a constantly healthy gig sheet, annual tours of the USA
and appearances at the 2007 & 2009 Mariposa Folk Festival in
Canada (alongside Don McLean, Gordon Lightfoot, The Proclaimers and
Buffy-Sainte Marie). Bram
continues to be a constantly reliable and entertaining performer.

Bram
is Fellside Records’ longest serving artist with 10 solo albums
and almost an equivalent number of compilation recordings to his
credit. His latest
Fellside release ‘Jokers & Rogues’ was extremely well
received by the British Folk Music Press.

Martin Curtis, New Zealand Singer and Songwriter, lives in Cardrona in the foothills of the Southern Alps, a place
that has become the inspiration behind much of his music.

He has been writing and singing songs about his adopted country for
over 30 years, and has recorded and released 10 albums, many of them celebrating
New Zealand and the people who helped make it what it is today. He has toured
extensively nationally and internationally – particularly in the United
Kingdom – as well as Australia, Hong Kong, Austria, Norway and even Nepal.

Three
Sheets To The Wind

With
Derek Gifford (Of the velvet tonsils) and Geoff Higginbottom (The Symphonic
Foghorn)

Sea songs and shanties and all
things maritime.

Derek (Captain) Gifford, Keith (rank & vile)) Kendrick
and Geoff (cabin boy) Higginbottom are: Three Sheets to the Wind (Well
– most of the time!) and sing and play authentic traditional sea songs
and shanties for the delectation and delight of all and sundry, mostly
in rowdy but harmonious form (tho’ less so in the latter as the drink
takes effect!) acapela or with various instrumental accompaniment.
Giff can often be seen with ‘Vile’ strolling down Lime Street in search
of a Liverpool Packet……….Dunno about the cabin boy…..

Anyone attending their performances should be prepared to be shanghaied
or press-ganged and be partial to rum and ship’s biscuit (teeth and
constitution permitting!)

'Giff' is a good friend of FATD. He has a fine voice and accompanies himself on guitar & bowed psaltery or sings unaccompanied. www.derekgifford.co.uk

Feb 2013 ROY CLINGING

A strong vocal style and adept use of the English concertina and acoustic guitar have confirmed Cheshire-based Roy as a highly respected performer and interpreter of traditional music in contemporary settings. www.royclinging.com

Jan 2013 MAUREEN JONES

We know her so well and tonight will be an opportunity to hear a lot more from this first class poet and songstress.